Getting Knitting Done
This post might be more appropriately called "oh, the places you can knit" or even "oh my goodness, I've suddenly got a gazillion wips on my needles!"
Believe it or not, my huge pile of wips in January was whittled down to just one (those lacy pink socks) by the end of February. Now look! I've gone a bit bananas and have cast on All The Things.
So I've decided to chat to you about how I get knitting done. Or actually, how I'm hoping I'll get this pile finished.
Unsurprisingly, the big secret to getting knitting done is ... knit. Nothing happens when you leave projects in bags. You're the only one who's going to knit those stitches! But how do you fit it in? When do you find the time? I've got lots of strategies to make sure I get those stitches on and off my needles and here they are:
- Knit every day. I don't mean all day, although that'd be lovely. But, making knitting a normal part of your day and turning it into habit is a good way to get more done. I knit virtually every day, even if it's only a few stitches. All those stitches add up,
- Create knitting rituals. I knit when I watch tv. I've been doing it so long that it feels totally weird not to. I think that's a kind of ritual. I also like to take a little knitting break in the afternoon. It's a good excuse to stop and sit for a bit and it gets a few more rows done. If you peek your head in my window on weekend mornings, you'll invariably find me sitting in bed with a hot drink having a little knit. It's definitely a ritual!
- Make knitting corners. I have a couple of places around the house where I like to sit comfortably and knit. Some are outside to catch a bit of sun and some are inside. The inside places have knitting near them so it's easy for me to grab my project. See my big basket? It holds heaps of bags and sits next to the sofa in the sitting room so I can quickly grab something when I sit down.
- Plan, plan, plan. Make sure you've got some simple knitting on your needles so you've got something you can knit while you chat. If all your knitting is complicated you'll miss those wonderful opportunities to get a few rows in. Same goes for watching the kids, I find it's better to have something that doesn't require too much counting or watching stitches when I'm knitting and supervising kids - constant interruptions and needle grabbing is not conducive to lace or cables!
- Take your knitting with you. Obviously this requires a bit of planning (see above) so always have something portable on the needles. Lots of people knit endless vanilla socks but I find anything with stocking stitch, a simple patten very portable too. I've been doing most of my recent swatches out and about.
- Knit everywhere. This ties in with taking your knitting with you but it's a little different because here I am advocating that you throw caution and self-consciousness to the wind and knit anywhere and everywhere. Be fearless. You'll get so much more done and you'll never care about waiting in a queue ever again. Plus, you won't believe how many people will talk to you. You might make new friends! Usually people are very kind and tell you stories about their knitting or their mother's knitting but very occasionally they might make an odd comment about your knitting. Don't listen, it's likely they're just jealous ;)
- Make sure your tools are organised. I made myself a needle roll which has spaces and zip pockets for tape measures, stitch markers, crochet hooks, post-it notes, safety pins and little scissors a pen. It saves fluffing around trying to find what I need which means more knitting time. I've also got a little pouch that I can chuck in a project bag which contains everything except all my needles.
- Get yourself some super lovely project bags. Sound crazy? No it's not. A gorgeous project bag calls to you; "open me!" and so you do. And then you get more knitting done.
So, that's how I'm going to get my many projects finished. One stitch at a time, all the time.
How are you going to get yours done?